


you're gonna need a box for this puzzle

by enbytieflings



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Based on a Snapcube Video, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Puzzles, Stuttering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 15:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19337563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbytieflings/pseuds/enbytieflings
Summary: This puzzle requires a box, and Nott is determined to make sure Fjord gets the box.





	you're gonna need a box for this puzzle

**Author's Note:**

> what can i say except delete this  
> goddammit, i was supposed to be productive and doing actual fic outlines but then i got distracted by snapcube  
> im so sorry  
> Video Inspo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAB1Yo8NK5I&list=PL-QgmqAlQTgwZCSRgUrktNSEbuX5ha22o&index=3

Silence fills the chamber as they both enter, only a silent hummed tune passing between them. Nott glances up at her unlikely companion for this dungeon and slowly shakes her head to herself. If she could choose who she went in here with, if she had a choice in the matter, Fjord would not be her first. Or last. Or  _ anything _ , really. He wouldn’t have even been an option, but here they are. She gently taps the hilt of her hidden dagger with a sharp fingernail and pushes forward past Fjord.

 

“I-I don’t like how this-this dungeon is treating me right now,” She mutters, looking around the open chamber (she also doesn’t like how her partner is treating her throughout this. Too many dumb jokes and too much stunting their progress). It’s a complicated puzzle to many, but Nott can already decipher the many possibilities on how to get through it. A couple platforms, a large open gap between said platforms, a strange light shining through a beacon in the middle of the floor, a big button on one side; this should be easy. 

 

“Eh, that’s fine,” Fjord says. She scoffs and walks to the button first, gently feeling around the area for something out of place. Obviously, they have to push the button for  _ something _ , whatever that may be. Pushing buttons seems to be a motif in this dungeon. “Do you know what to do already?” He asks, watching her in mild confusion (maybe surprise, she thought, if she were lucky. She’s bad at seeing through people’s emotions, especially his).

 

“Well, somebody has to figure out the puzzle,” She says, pushing away from the wall as he approaches to stand nearby. She barely gives him a glance; she’s had enough of looking at him for one day (it’s not that she hates him, she just prefers everyone else over him. And maybe that’s hate, but does she really want to take the time to analyze her emotions? Not right now, no). “It’s not trapped. Should be fine.” 

 

“Should be?” He cocks an uncertain eyebrow. Nott simply shrugs and presses the button before he can continue to say anything else. She ignores his sputtering protest and looks around for any hint of movement or danger because of that. Instead, she hears a metallic clattering (familiar) and catches a wink of shine in the corner of her eye (also familiar). Apparently, Fjord heard it as well; when she looks over to see his reaction, he’s already looking around for the source of the noise.

 

They both move away from the wall and look around, the search difficult with nothing but darkvision, but Nott quickly locates the object. It fell not too far from where the button was, and as she picks it up she looks at the ceiling above it, where a small hole just big enough for this object lays. She looks back down, rolling the small reflective box around in her hands, watching how it catches the light of the beacon not too far away. Fjord has given up his own search, kneeling down close to her to look at it as well. He tilts his head, processing what the box could be for, and why it would even be here. Nott hums and hands it to him, letting him roll it around in his hand curiously.

 

It’s a hunch, really, but she’s not sure anything bad could come out of what she’s doing (in fact, all two possibilities in her head are good). She barely hesitates before pressing the button again. A small ‘ah’ noise comes from behind, and she turns just in time to see the cube gone from Fjord’s hand, only to drop from the hole again and miss him completely, clattering to the ground again. They both stare for a good minute or two before an idea pops into Nott’s head.

 

“I-I think…” She trails off, not bothering to finish her thought for Fjord. She picks the box up again and walks it over to the center of the room and deftly places it in the light’s path, watching it bounce from one side to shoot out of another and hit the wall, illuminating the area and showing the grimy muck on it better. She rotates the box in her hand and watches as the light moves with it, going from one wall of the chamber to the next until it hits another hole in the wall. A loud mechanical noise comes from nowhere, which startles Nott and makes her drop the box to the ground, effectively stopping the noise.

 

A moment passes as she lets the adrenaline seep out of her, grinding her teeth. She doesn’t acknowledge Fjord when he comes up beside her and picks up the box again, instead focusing on the strangely concentrated light in front of her. 

 

“D’ya think that noise was good or bad?” He asks, eyes trailing over every surface of the room.

 

Nott shrugs, regaining her full composure. “W-was-was probably our ticket out of here.” She says, noting her warped reflection on the side of the box. “K-keep it there for-for, uh, a bit, I’ll stand by.” It’s not meant to be a suggestion, more of an order, but as long as Fjord does it, she doesn’t really care.

 

“Yeah, y’know, after that last puzzle, I think I’ll take the reigns here.” He mutters, eyebrows furrowing as he shoots Nott an accusatory glare. She chuckles at the memory of taunting him in the last chamber, and an idea pops into her head again. A much better idea, in certain terms.

 

“A-alright, sure,” She nods, trying her best at an innocent smile with her teeth. Fjord doesn’t seem to pick up on her motives, probably more glad there’s not anything that could crush him here. She takes a few steps back and waits until he does the same thing she did, placing the box in the path of the light, and then presses the button. She holds back a barking laugh as the cube disappears from his hand and falls from the ceiling again, watching him take a moment to process. He turns back to her, narrowing his eyes.

 

“Y’see, I was trying to do what you told me, but okay,” He says with a bitter tone. “To each their own, I guess.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Nott nods, pulling her hand away from the button to pick up the new (new? It could be the same one, just pulled from one place to another. She files that away to ask Caleb about later -- he would know) box and toss it back to Fjord. He manages to catch it and give her an already annoyed look before turning back to the light and doing the same thing as before.

 

The mechanical whirring picks up again and Nott has to dig her claws into her palm and grit her teeth to stop herself from screaming at it, but she can see now, at the edge of her darkvision, a door across the platform opens. A connecting pathway there already exists, so she can see where this goes from here. The loud noise stops once the door fully opens, and she’s grateful she didn’t have to kill something, but now that her senses are calmed, she feels the need to mess around again.

 

“Pathway’s open.” He says. Just as he starts to think about what to do now with the box, Nott reaches back and presses the button again. The box disappears and Fjord quickly pulls his hand back, as if he would be burned by the light if he kept it there (he actually might have, they haven’t tested that part out yet), and turns back to look at her just as another box hits the ground. The door slams shut again, making her flinch, but there are more important matters to tend to. “Pathway is no longer open.” He says softly in fake calmness. “Y’know what? Fine, fine--”

 

“Here-here’s a box,” She says in as naive a tone as she can make, pointing to the box on the floor. “I-I’ve figured out how to-- how to open the path, you just need to take this box and put it in the light.” She explains as Fjord picks the box up again, still staring down at her (he’s pretty tall and almost menacing compared to...well, most people, but she knows to not let that fool her. This guy was afraid of a couple kobolds with a funny voice hiding under a cloak, he doesn’t scare her).

 

“Yeah, cool, why don’t you go do that, then?” He asks, holding his hand out to her. She knows he’s trying to get this over with, but she’s already having too much fun.

 

“Well-well, no, because I have to-to go through the path,” She continues, pointing at the open pathway and taking a few steps in that direction.

 

“I can go do that.”

 

“N-n-no you can’t.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It-it’s a really small opening,” Nott says. “I’m much smaller, so I-I can fit through it, but you might not be short enough.” It’s not  _ technically _ a lie, because the doorway can probably only fit anyone under four feet tall standing, and Fjord stands exactly two feet taller than that. “I’m tiny, so it-it’ll work out better.” She continues, trying to push this as far as she can go.

 

He takes a moment to just stare before taking a deep breath and sighing. “Alright. You’re right,” He whispers, unenthusiastic, taking the box back over to the light. She knows better than to immediately take her place at the button again, and just calmly watches where she already stood. Fjord waits a few seconds beside the light, looking over his shoulder at her, and she gives him a simple dismissive wave in the beacon’s direction. 

 

“Th-that’s what you gotta do,” She says. He narrows his eyes again, peeved. “No, that-that’s how you do it, go-go ahead! I figured it out.” He sighs once more and does the same actions as before.

 

Nott moves back towards the button instantly, but before she can push it, Fjord’s onto her. “Hey, whatcha doin’ with that button over there?” He calls out, louder than needed. She doesn’t want to stop and  _ not _ press the button, so she does anyways, not pausing for a second. “Wha--!” He sputters, definitely not expecting her to continue the joke.

 

“I-I’m just getting you a box so you can do the puzzle,” She explains as unbothered as can be, taking the box from the ground once more. “So, y-you-you gotta take this box and then put-put it in the light--. This box reflects the-the light, so you have to-to take the light and shoot it into that hole over th-there.” Nott throws the box to him again and he fumbles with it before catching it. “I believe in you, you-you can do this.”

 

“You’re right, you’re right,” He repeats, approaching her once again. “Do you mind, though, if I make a suggestion?” He leans against the wall next to the button and crosses his arms, looking down at her in an almost condescending manner.

 

“Uhh, what would that be?” She asks, messing with the draping fabric of her belt. She’s trying to feign as much innocence as she can, even though she knows for a fact Fjord gets her game; that’s the point, though, that it’s a game and she’s going to win it, whether he likes it or not.

 

“Okay, you see this, ah, this little thing right here?” He points to the button. She stifles a laugh, knowing that he’s playing along now.

 

“What thing?” 

 

“This thing, right here.” 

 

“Oh, you mean this?” She asks and pushes the button again. To be fair, this time he doesn’t even blink, instead placing his hand over hers.

 

“Yes, this thing, the thing we’re both touchin’.” Fjord whispers, though it sounds more like a hiss to her.

 

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Nott nods. “What about it?” She throws in a little childish head tilt to add to the effect.

 

He smiles wide and it’s almost scary with his growing tusks (though, once again, she’s not scared of him), as he leans in close. “Off. Fucking. Limits.” He whispers, the final word ending with a whistle as his tongue catches his bottom teeth. She grins back, giving one tiny laugh before muffling it with her other hand (she’s not quite sure she likes his hand pressed to hers, but she’s come too far now). “Now, when I say-- Do you know what ‘off limits’ means, do you know what that means?” He asks (he’s testing her, the fucker).

 

“Yeah,” She nods again.

 

“What does it mean?” He continues. Normally, she’d feel offended at him treating her like a child, but this was all in good fun (at least from her perspective). If this were any other situation, she’d probably smack him and call him a bastard like usual, but right now, she’ll play along.

 

“It means ‘don’t touch it’.” She says, taking on the role of a child just for this, playing it into her voice. She hasn’t had to use this voice since her con-woman days when she’d pretend to be Caleb’s daughter and get sympathy money from random passersby. This con, however, it’s appropriate.

 

“Bingo,” He nods. “Don’t-don’t even come near it, actually, don’t touch it and don’t go near it.” He pulls his hand away and nudges her in the other direction by the shoulder, picking up the metallic box again along the way.

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” She says, following where he leads her, a few feet away from the wall and closer to the pathway. “Under no circumstances touch this button, I-I got it.”

 

“Yeah, pretend there’s an imaginary line here or somethin’, just don’t--”

 

“Fjord, I got it!” Nott exclaims, rolling her eyes and pushing his hand off of her. “I won’t touch the button!” She holds her hands up defensively and smiles up at him again, despite knowing the charm leaves when she smiles with her teeth.

 

“Okay, good,” Fjord smiles back, cheek twitching with obvious annoyance. “So just don’t press the button and we’re fine.”

 

“We’re fine,” She repeats, dropping her arms back down to her sides. He inhales sharply and turns again to go towards the light in the chamber. “Just-just-just take that box and-and do your thing, you need th-the box for the puzzle.” He nods.

 

“Yep, just don’t touch the button,” He reiterates, glancing back at her every few seconds as he does the same thing from before with the beacon. “We’re not touching the button.”

 

“Yeah,” She waits a moment before moving next. “Yeah, hang on, let me just get you a box for this puzzle.” She says as she moves back and presses the button. His immediate objections go unheard even for her large ears as the metal clanks on the stone floor. “You-- Because you-you need a box for-for th-this puzzle--” She cuts herself off this time by finally bursting into laughter, resting (more like hitting, but still) her head against the wall above the button as she does. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Fjord staring at her incredulously, as if this wasn’t going to happen, but there’s a vague hint of a smile in his jaw-dropped expression that lets her know he’s still in the game.

 

“You--” He can’t finish, the words not coming to him, like he’d hit a wall in his train of thought. 

 

Nott cackles and pushes herself up again, picking up the cube and holding it out to him. “You-you need a box-- What you need to-to do is t-take this box--” She can’t finish either, it’s too much. He takes a few slow steps forward, shaking his head. “Y-yeah-yeah, no, I figured it out, you-you need a box-- you need this-this reflective box for the-the puzzle.”

 

“Yeah.” Fjord breathes, taking the box from her. “Thanks, you’re really smart, Nott. Where would I be without you?” His monotone voice makes it all the better as she catches her breath again and slumps against the wall, dragging down to a sit. “Yeah, hey, could you do me a real quick favor?”

 

She swallows. “Sure, what’s up?” Her voice comes out strained, and she can’t help but giggle about it.

 

He pulls a torn piece of crumpled paper out of one of his pockets and a chipped piece of charcoal and starts writing something down, and the ridiculousness of that simple action makes her start laughing again. “Just real quick,” He assures her. “You obviously know how to read, right?” She nods and coughs into her palm as he drops the coal to the ground. “Yeah, ‘course, could you just read this for me real quick while I go do this puzzle?” He reaches down and hands her the paper, and she distantly notes that it’s torn from some kind of book, rather than some random page of paper he just had.

 

“Sure thing,” She says, looking down at the paper and not reading it. He whispers a small encouragement and turns to go to the light again. “Yeah, yeah, while I’m-- while I’m doing this, go get the-the box in position, you’re gonna need it for the puzzle.” Nott feels exhausted just from laughing, her stomach aching. He hums and places the box in the light again, and this time, the door opens without any interruption. Fjord must be tired of dealing with her shit, because he goes over to the pathway instead of her like they planned (““planned””). As soon as he crosses through the door, he’s on the other much smaller platform. “Wait, now that-that I think about it, actually, you’re gonna need a box for this puzzle.” She reaches up and blindly slaps her hand on where she remembers the button was.

 

The box disappears and the door slams shut, and she’s left staring at Fjord across the chamber at the very edge of her darkvision. She thinks she can almost see his disappointment from here.


End file.
